One Cold Night
by bookchick08
Summary: Two teenagers. One blanket. And it all snowballs from there...  Turned it into a two-shot. *insert smiley face HERE*
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is another Liberty's Kids oneshot I've had written for awhile that I'm just now getting around to publishing. I was hesitant about publishing it for awhile because there were some parts that just didn't feel right to me, but, thank goodness, God gave me the inspiration I needed to change those parts. If you were to compare this with the original, you'd find they're very different. (This one's better, though :3) Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I never have and most likely never will own Liberty's Kids. :C**

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><p>After walking for hours, James Hiller tossed his bag on the ground and collapsed. "I'm exhausted; let's call it a day," he announced to his fellow friend and traveller Sarah Phillips.<p>

"For once, I completely agree with you," Sarah said, lying down to close her eyes.

James shook her shoulder. "Uh-uh. No way are you leaving me to make a fire and cook supper."

"I would hardly call digging around in your bag for bread and apples 'making supper'," Sarah replied, but she got up anyway. "Do you still have water?"

James nodded, shaking his canteen. Sarah nodded her approval and began to scrounge through her bag. As she looked through it, she noticed something and winced. "Oh, no."

"What?" James asked.

Sarah bit her lip and looked at him. "Henri only packed us one blanket."

James was about to answer, "So?" but he quickly realized the problem. This had happened in the past, and they'd both decide to just forgo the blanket. But they'd only had that problem in the summer, and it was now late November with winter rapidly approaching. It would likely be below 30 degrees that night.

The two looked at each, looked away, looked at each other, and looked away about 10 times. Finally Sarah cleared her throat and said, "If you can be mature, we'll share."

"Wait, what do you mean 'if'?" James snapped, his ego bruised. "I'm only six months younger than you, and we're both 17!"

"I hear the jokes you make with the butcher's apprentice. They're absolutely vulgar! And now Henri is becoming the same way!" Sarah shot back.

"I go to church every Sunday with you and Henri; doesn't that count?"

"Obviously you haven't read the book of the Bible that bears your name. If you had, you'd know that praises to God and vulgarity cannot come from the same mouth!"

James bristled at that comment. Of course he'd read the book of James; he just had trouble understanding it. "Alright, alright. I'll clean up my act if we can share the blanket. It's already cold."

"I'm with you on that one," Sarah muttered, wrapping her cloak around her.

After they ate, the two sat around the fire enjoying its warmth. "You know, we'll have to douse this when we go to sleep. Can't afford being taken in by the Redcoats," James pointed out.

Sarah looked confused. "On what charge?"

James's face reddened. "Well, you know… a man and a woman… not married… sleeping together on the side of the road… any of this ringing a bell?"

Sarah's cheeks also turned a deep hue. "Oh," was her reply.

There was an awkward silence. "We could get married," James suggested.

"You're funny. No," Sarah replied.

After another awkward silence, Sarah turned to James and said, "I don't look like a… you know… do I?"

James looked his companion over. Her long blue dress and sleeves to her wrists and wasn't low-cut at all; just a modest square neck. Her long, wavy red hair was pulled back into a simple low ponytail with a few loose waves framing her porcelain, clear face. Unlike most redheads, she was freckle-free. This allowed her bright green eyes to take center stage.

"You look…" James wanted to say "beautiful" but his tongue wouldn't let him. Instead he substituted, "You look like a nice, responsible 17-year-old Christian young woman."

Sarah smiled. Apparently that's what she wanted to hear. "And you, James Hiller, look like a good-hearted, loyal, 17-year-old Christian young man."

James looked at her, confused. "You really think I'm good-hearted?" he asked.

Sarah nodded. "Surprisingly, I do. When I first met you, though, I thought you were this obnoxious, hormonal American. You've changed, James, whether you'll admit it or not. You're still somewhat obnoxious but your good heart has come through. I've most definitely changed the way I feel about you."

Shocked at Sarah's words, James leaned back. She was right, of course. He'd thought Sarah was a looker the moment he'd first seen her and did all sorts of stupid things to impress her. James had also been oblivious to the fact that Sarah had realized his feelings until now.

"Was I really _that _hormonal?" he asked, somewhat afraid of Sarah's reply.

She laughed. "You, the butcher's apprentice, and the pastor's son followed me around for over a month like lovesick puppy dogs! I got rid of the latter two, but you I had to live with. Do you have any idea what it's like being the only female in a house?"

"Well, since you had a handsome, strong man your own age, I assume not too bad," James replied, smirking.

Sarah gave him a shove, but she was smiling. "Now that I think about it, you were the best looking of my three "suitors". The pastor's son had huge ears and was 13 at the time. The butcher's apprentice, though he was somewhat handsome, was about six inches shorter than me. You're rather good-looking, you're tall, and you're the same age as me."

At these remarks, James blushed. "Thanks. And to answer your question seriously, I'm sure it's not fun living in a place where you're the only girl."

"Sometimes I just want to pull my hair out!" Sarah exclaimed. "It's not exactly a picnic."

"Yeah, well, don't think having you around has been fun for us men, either. I've learned more about girls in the past two years than in my entire before that put together. I mean, I knew girls gossiped. When I was 14, I kissed Elizabeth Parnell and within three hours half of Philidelphia knew! That evening I was taking out the trash as the grocer walked by, and he said to me – completely serious – 'I know how it is to be young and in love, but you and Elizabeth are 14- that's a bit young to tie the knot.' Needless to say, my relationship with Elizabeth hasn't gone farther than a polite 'hello' on the street," James said.

Sarah looked up at the darkening sky. "It's getting late. We should go to sleep."

"What, no smart remark about my kissing Elizabeth? James asked teasingly.

"Will you go get something to put out that fire?" Sarah asked, completely ignoring him.

"You're jealous, aren't you?" James asked, standing up to face her. "You're jealous that I kissed Elizabeth."

Sarah looked him straight in the eye. "James Hiller, you can rest assured that I'm not jealous you kissed Elizabeth Parnell. She's the biggest snot in the entire colonies. And while we're talking about our love lives, you should know that my mother has found me a 20-year-old handsome, tall, gentleman she would like to see me marry when I return to England."

James stepped closer to Sarah until there was hardly an inch between them. "Well, Sarah Phillips, you can just go right ahead and marry that Tory for all I care! Rumor is Elizabeth still has a thing for me; maybe I'll go and marry her!"

Sarah crossed her arms. "You just do that, James."

James crossed his arms, too. "I think I will, Sarah."

Then, in the next moment, they uncrossed their arms and leaned in until the space between them was closed. They kissed. Just like James had wanted to from the moment he met Sarah. Just like Sarah had wanted to from the moment she saw James's heart change.

Several moments later, they pulled away, but still remained close. "Just so you know, kissing Elizabeth was her idea, and it was a dare anyway." James admitted, blushing.

"Um, my mother didn't really say anything about a 20-year-old suitor," Sarah confessed, also embarrassed.

After a moment of silence, James said, "You asked me to put out the fire?..."

That seemed to snap Sarah out of her trance. "Oh, yes! I'll get the blanket and then we can go to sleep."

James found something to fill with water as Sarah was searching for the blanket. He walked down to the nearby creek. While filling the container with water, he turned around to look back at Sarah. He caught her staring at him. She blushed, bit her lip, and turned back around to continue looking for the blanket. James smiled to himself, shook his head, and continued filling the container with water.

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><p><strong>When I was writing this, I pictured their kiss to kinda be like Ron and Hermione's in Deathly Hallows P2. Also, I aged James and Sarah, just because I wanted to. Reviews would be nice, please... *puppy dog eyes* :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, ya'll! After some thinking and persuasion, I decided to turn "One Cold Night" into a two-shot. This part is fluffier than the first, and there's not as much humor. I don't really have much else to say, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Liberty's Kids. Drat.**

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><p>The next morning, James woke first. At first the heat of another body next to him startled him, but as he recalled the events of the previous night, he smiled to himself. James turned his head to face Sarah, who was still sleeping. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful.<p>

_And to think that she kissed me, _James thought to himself, grinning like a fool. Suddenly she stirred in her sleep. James froze, afraid of waking her. But Sarah never opened her eyes. Instead, she subconsciously rested her hand on James's chest. Normally something like this would've bothered him, but instead of gently removing her hand, he laid his on top of hers, clutching it tenderly. James smiled slightly and closed his eyes to get some more sleep.

About an hour later, Sarah woke up. Blushing, she realized her hand was on James's chest and he was holding it. _Probably happened while we were both asleep, _she thought to herself. Gently, as so not to create an awkward situation when he woke, she removed her hand. After completing this task, she gently shook his shoulder. "James, c'mon. We have to get up."

James groaned and rolled over. "Ugh, now? C'mon, five more minutes."

Sarah shook her head. "Nope. Come on, we still have a few hours to go, and we have to be in New Jersey by 5 p.m. to meet Moses' friend for the horses."

James sighed, but got up anyway. "Alright. We have any fruit to eat?"

Sarah dug through her bag. "Looks like we have an orange we could split. We still have some bread and cheese we can eat for lunch, and we'll have supper somewhere in New Jersey."

"Sounds good." Half an orange wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing.

Rather quietly, the two companions ate and packed up camp. Though it was the only thing on both of their minds, neither one brought up the events of the previous night. The awkward silence continued as the two started down the road.

Finally, in a moment of exasperation, James blurted, "Well, if you're not going to say anything, I will!"

"About what?" Sarah asked, though she very well knew what James was talking about.

"What happened last night! Our kiss! Did it really mean nothing to you?"

Sarah stopped and turned to face James. Expecting her to be angry, he was surprised when she spoke in a calm voice. "James, of course it meant something to me. What happened last night… it was really a turning point for me. Not just in my relationship with you, but also in the way I feel about living in America. I've grown to love this country, but with the war starting to draw to a close, I've been wondering: can I live here? Is there anything- or anyone- worth staying here for? I know my father's here, but I can't live with him and someday he plans on returning to England. I was afraid- afraid of not being able to earn a living, or," her voice suddenly became softer, and she dropped her head, "finding someone to marry." She lifted her head back up and looked James in the eye. "After last night, after the conversation we had and our kiss, suddenly I don't feel afraid. I feel that maybe, just maybe, I'll make a living, and maybe, just maybe, I don't have to worry about finding a husband, because the man I want to spend the rest of my life with is standing right in front of me."

James was silent for a moment after Sarah's confession. "You really think so?"

"James, I _know _so. That's why I wasn't saying anything; I was afraid I'd let it slip that I-" She stopped and clamped her hand over her mouth.

He stepped closer to Sarah. "You what?"

Sarah took a deep breath. "I love you."

For the second time that morning, James was speechless. Sarah continued, "I have for a long time, James. I just didn't know if you felt the same. I was always so worried that some pretty Patriot girl would catch your eye and you'd fall for her, like Sybil Ludington, or-"

James silenced her with a kiss. After they pulled away, he whispered in her ear, "I love you, too. I have for awhile."

Sarah looked at him and grinned. James grinned back and took her hand. Together, the two of them walked side-by-side, hand-in-hand all the way to New Jersey. And though their romance was just blossoming, both had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time they'd walk somewhere hand-in-hand.

They were right. A couple years later, they made another journey hand-in-hand. It wasn't to New Jersey, though. It was down the aisle as they were announced as "Mr. and Mrs. James Hiller." A year or so after that, they walked hand-in-hand to the midwife's house where Sarah gave birth to their first child. A few years later, they walked hand-in-hand to Ben Franklin's funeral. Even after four children and over thirty years of marriage, James and Sarah Hiller never forgot how their romance blossomed because of Henri's mistake and one cold night.

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><p><strong>I hope you liked it! Review, please! :)<strong>


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